Pierceson Coody during the final round of the 2018 Trans-Miss (TGA photo)

There is certainly something to be said for a golfer on a streak. Given that trend, three of the top four names on the Trans-Miss Amateur leaderboard aren’t the least bit surprising.

With a 6-under 66, Pierceson Coody set the standard at Maridoe Golf Club in Dallas. At Maridoe, 66 ties the competitive course record. The rising Texas sophomore does this, though.

Coody ended the 2018 season with a win at the South Beach International Amateur. He set himself apart with a third-round 64. You might say that the Coody brothers in general do this. Last month, his twin – and fellow Longhorn – Parker fired a 65 to get into contention at the Monroe Amateur. (Parker, by the way, opened with 76 on Tuesday at the Trans-Miss.)

Given that Maridoe is near the Coody brothers’ Plano hometown, you might have seen a low round coming out of one of them. They recently became members at Maridoe. Pierceson had four birdies in his first seven holes, made his only bogey at No. 9, then added three more birdies on the back to grow his three-shot lead.

"I have been playing good for a while and this is just a continuation of it,” Coody said. “I switched to a new Armlock putter last week because I was tired of putting bad and I hit it solid all day long.”

It's worth noting, as well, that a year ago, Pierceson opened with a 66 in this event, played at Brookside CC in Columbus, Ohio, then made a run at the title and finished an eventual second.

Cooper Dossey is also in somewhat familiar territory this week. Dossey, a rising senior at Baylor who won the North & South Amateur last week, grew up in Austin, Texas.

That Dossey is tied for second after a 3-under 69 shows he has taken a weakness to heart. When Dossey won the North & South at the end of June, it highlighted how much stronger he feels in match play than stroke play. He has gone 11-0 in match play since arriving at Baylor.

“I can play match play against the golf course,” Dossey said when asked how he might turn match-play prowess into stroke-play success. “If I can translate my game from match play to stroke play, I think I can be a top player.”

After his North & South victory, Dossey, who has been plagued by a wrist injury for much of his career at Baylor, rose to No. 91 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Then there’s Scott Harvey, one of two players tied with Dossey at 3 under. Call Dallas a sort of adopted hometown for Harvey, a North Carolina resident who is in the Lonestar State this week with his family, visiting in-laws. Maridoe is roughly 15 minutes away, so Harvey decided to play.

Already in 2019, Harvey has won three major amateur titles – one of them the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball with partner Todd Mitchell. Harvey’s other two titles were in mid-amateur events, but this week, he’s contending with a large number of collegians and generally younger men.

“The golf ball does not know how old I am. I feel like I can hit every shot they can hit. There’s no part of me that feels like I can’t and that’s with every club. But I get tired, and I get tired quick,” he said.

Despite that feeling, Harvey held up well in the Texas heat on Tuesday.

Australian Darcy Brereton also landed at 3 under after the first round for a share of second. Defending champion Hayden Springer had an even-par 72 and is tied for ninth. Mid-amateur Justin Tereshko, who made an admirable run at this title last year, opened with 74.

The Trans-Miss is one of the oldest and
most storied golf tournaments in the United
States.
For 106 years the championship
was played in a match play format.
Past champions include Jack Nicklaus (1958
and 1959), Charles Coe (1947, 1949, 1952 and
1956), Deane Beman (1960), George Archer
(1963), Ben Crenshaw (1972), Gary Koch
(1973), Bob Tway (1978), Mark Brooks (1978)
and other professional tour notables. In
1987 the championship was changed to a mid-
amateur age requirement, and a senior division
was also added. Starting in 2010, the Trans-
Mississippi Championship, returned to its roots
as an
open amateur tournament, and immediately
established itself as a "must-play" among
top collegiate and mid-am players, while
changing to
a 72-hole stroke play format. The field size
starts at
144 players from Trans-
Mississippi Golf Association member clubs (or
players receiving a special invitation from the
Championship Committee). After 36 holes, a cut
is
made to the low 54 and ties who play the final
two
rounds.